• barkybeak@lemmy.zip
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    2 days ago

    Walmart loss prevention are terrible. They are willing to die so Walmart doesn’t lose $35 worth of food.

    I saw a police cam video of a woman who accidentally didn’t scan a $10 item. No big deal. I have been guilty of that myself. You get reminded to scan the item.

    These L&P people called the cops and then the cops called for back up. They stopped the woman before she left and had her arrested.

    No prior offenses. She had a baby with her (less than a year old). Just someone who made a simple mistake and would easily be fixed with simple conversation.

    But Walmart L&P was not having it. Telling the cops to charge her to the furthest extent

    Even the cops were like “Hey she didn’t do this maliciously. She has not left the store. She can still pay for the item. “

    Walmart L&P told the cops to “teach her a lesson”

    The cops were “nice enough” to wait until the baby’s father arrived to take the baby but the woman got arrested for not ringing up a $10 item

    The L&P had these smug looks as if they took down some Batman villain. Giving each other high fives when this woman was put in cuffs.

    • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      Walmart, in general, is a horrible piece of shit company that is just as vile as Amazon. They just have more experience in sweeping everything under the rug.

    • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      Afaik in Canada, you aren’t even breaking any law until you try to leave the premises without paying. Perfectly legal to grab shit from the shelves and stuff it in your pockets as long as you take it out and pay for it before you leave. If you wanted to fuck with their loss prevention people, do that looking as shady as you can, like furtive looks around as you shove things in your clothes, then just pull it all out at the register.

      Note that they can ask you to just leave and ban you from the store without needing to charge you with anything (after which returning at all could get you a trespass charge), so it’s more of a funny prank to think about and then not bother doing because there’s nothing to gain.

      • osanna@lemmy.vg
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        8 hours ago

        eh, in some places, “concealing items” is illegal, even if you intended to pay. I believe that’s the case in florida. If you hide items, that in itself is an illegal act. I recommend not doing this.

      • versionc@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        Pretty sure that’s how it is in Sweden too, though I’m not sure if grocery stores have a right to ban you like that. I have a tendency to put stuff in my pocket if I forget to take a basket.

      • Dasus@lemmy.world
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        12 hours ago

        This is how it works in Finland at least.

        I know that for certain.

        One could technically argue you’ve attempted to steal them by stuffing them in your pockets, but apparently that would never work.

        Still though, it’s not as if the cops and guards are aware of that. Just today I had a guard hassle me, asking me what the can is in my pocket, in a store I went to a few hours ago. We went just a few min before it closed, but we never even went near the drinks section. The guard was just a babyfaced young guard who wanted to somehow try his authority. I had better things to do so I said nothing and showed the can, as it was a cold beer can, and they don’t stock that beer, or even if they do, they don’t chill any of their beer cans. I knew I could’ve legally refused from showing him, but eh, couldn’t really be arsed, as it would’ve taken so much of everyone’s time and no-one would’ve got why I would even do something like that. (Finns don’t understand the risk of authoritarianism)

      • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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        12 hours ago

        it’s more of a funny prank to think about and then not bother doing because there’s nothing to gain.

        they can ask you to just leave and ban you from the store

        that’s plenty to gain right there.

    • shneancy@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      so America actually does what my anxiety disorder used to tell me would happen?

      guys you live in hell

      • village604@adultswim.fan
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        18 hours ago

        I don’t think this is a very common occurrence. Depending on the state it might not even be a crime (mine says the value has to be over $50 before cops get involved).

        What probably happened was the cops told the husband to meet them at the station and gave her a warning.

        I was caught stealing a graphing calculator from Walmart when I was a teen, and all that happened was the L&P guy asked if I was with a parent, then called her to the office and said I had an upset stomach.

        But we don’t know what race the woman is, so that probably is a factor.

        • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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          12 hours ago

          happens all the time.

          I knew a woman who was having a medical emergency due to low blood sugar. she was trying to get to her car where she could help herself and forgot a birthday card in her purse. A $4 birthday card…

          they held her, arrested her, and made her go into shock. the cops called an ambulance when they saw her and she was taken to the hospital.

          Walmart still pressed charges and banned her from the store.

          Walmart is fucking vile. don’t shop there unless you don’t have a choice.

      • village604@adultswim.fan
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        18 hours ago

        Because it’s easier to give her a ride to the station and give her a warning than to deal with angry employees.

        I’d be shocked if she was actually charged with anything because the DA would know that even a public defender could get her off.

        • asqapro@reddthat.com
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          1 day ago

          I’m not a lawyer, and maybe this is just a US-centric understanding, but someone “pressing charges” doesn’t force the police to arrest the accused person, let alone actually charge them with a criminal offense. Pressing charges, at least to my understanding, is notifying police of a crime, pointing out the offender, and tacitly agreeing to cooperate if the police need more information.

          • white_nrdy@programming.dev
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            1 day ago

            You might be right. I am also not a lawyer, and I’m also in the US. I assumed that they would arrest since Walmart is technically provate property, L&P might have had her legally removed for trespassing? I don’t know, who knows. It might also just be that the police were just listening to the orders of their corporate overlords 🤷

            • village604@adultswim.fan
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              18 hours ago

              Given that the police were trying to get L&P to drop it, I’m betting they just took her to the station and had her husband pick her up so they didn’t have to deal with L&P anymore.

              Since she didn’t leave the store with the item, she didn’t actually steal anything.